Deputy Executive Director and Chief Program Officer

About the ACLU of Kansas

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kansas is a non-profit and non-partisan organization dedicated to preserving and advancing the civil rights and legal freedoms guaranteed by the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Kansas Constitution. The ACLU of Kansas works in the state legislature, the courts, and local communities to protect the rights of all people living in Kansas.

The organization’s work includes efforts to strengthen and defend First Amendment rights, voting rights, reproductive rights, racial justice, LGBT rights, immigrants’ rights, stopping government surveillance, and reforming the criminal legal system. Currently, 80% of its efforts and resources are dedicated to two campaigns: voting rights and immigrants’ rights, with the remaining 20% devoted to other civil liberties matters as they arise.

The ACLU of Kansas often works in broad-based coalitions with individuals and organizations across the political, partisan, and ideological spectrum. It is an affiliate of the national American Civil Liberties Union, with an annual budget of approximately $4.7 million and nearly 40,000 supporters statewide. The organization comprises two separate entities: the ACLU of Kansas (a 501(c)(4) focused on lobbying and advocacy) and the ACLU Foundation of Kansas (a 501(c)(3) focused on litigation and public education). On a contracted basis, it also provides operational support to Kansans United for Civil Liberties, a Section 527 organization that provides non-partisan voter education on civil liberties issues.

About the Role

The ACLU of Kansas seeks a dynamic, innovative, and seasoned professional to serve as its inaugural Deputy Executive Director and Chief Program Officer (CPO). The CPO reports directly to the Executive Director and is a member of the senior management team, which also includes the Chief Operating Officer and the Chief Development Officer.

The CPO will lead the strategic direction, planning, and day-to-day management of the ACLU of Kansas’s programmatic work, collaborating with the Executive Director, staff, partners, volunteers, and the board to achieve ambitious civil liberties and civil rights impact goals. The role involves designing and implementing monitoring, evaluation, and learning processes to enhance programmatic results and impact, as well as fostering an organizational culture that centers equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging.

The CPO will directly supervise five senior leaders: the Communications Director, Field Director, Legal Director, Policy & Research Director, and Political Director, overseeing a combined staff of 18 FTEs. The position may be based in the organization’s Overland Park or Wichita office and requires frequent travel throughout Kansas.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a member of the ACLU of Kansas executive team, shaping organizational strategy, supporting growth and culture, setting a bold vision for programmatic work, and executing integrated advocacy campaigns.
• Act as the acting Executive Director and senior-most organizational leader in the Executive Director’s absence.
• Provide strategic direction, leadership, and management of the ACLU of Kansas’s five programmatic departments (Communications, Field, Legal, Policy & Research, and Political) to achieve mission impact, particularly for the organization’s two integrated advocacy campaigns and strategic plan.
• Directly supervise the Communications Director, Field Director, Legal Director, Policy & Research Director, and Political Director, providing support, guidance, mentorship, and coaching to programmatic staff.
• Collaborate with the Chief Development Officer and programmatic staff to maintain funder relationships, pursue funding opportunities, and report on programmatic impact.
• Provide structure and support for internal collaboration, project management, progress, and outcome tracking, especially for the organization’s three priority integrated advocacy campaigns.
• Oversee programmatic department directors in developing and monitoring annual budgets.
• Ensure compliance by programmatic departments with legal, regulatory, and internal policy requirements, as well as consistency with ACLU values.
• Develop and steward strategic relationships and partnerships to achieve programmatic impact.
• Provide programmatic expertise in civil liberties/civil rights issues and strategic/tactical approaches to achieving meaningful victories.
• Identify priorities, gaps, and trends in program areas and make recommendations accordingly.
• Lead learning and evaluation processes, in collaboration with the Chief Operating Officer, to enhance programmatic impact and ensure continuous improvement in organizational effectiveness.
• Create and support a high-performing work culture that centers people directly impacted by ACLU work and fosters equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
• Serve as a spokesperson and public face for the ACLU of Kansas, as appropriate, though the role is primarily internal-facing.